Mangarh Dham

Paper 1 – History

Why You Should Know?

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared the Mangarh Dham Tribal Memorial in Banswara, Rajasthan as a national monument .

In detail –

• Mangarh is a hilly area of Banswara district in Rajasthan. There are also borders of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
• The entire area is tribal-dominated. Mainly Bhil tribals live here. The local feudals, princely states and the British exploited them by taking advantage of their illiteracy, simplicity and poverty.
• To eradicate the evils and blind traditions spread in them, a big social and spiritual movement was organized under the leadership of Govind Guru, which is called ‘Bhagat Movement’ .
• Govind Guru was born on December 20, 1858, in Bansia (Bedia) village of Dungarpur district.
• Govind Guru started the Bhagat movement in the 1890s. Fire was considered a symbol in the movement. The followers had to stand in front of the fire and smoke.

Samp Sabha

• In 1883, he founded the ‘Samp Sabha’.
• By this they stayed away from alcohol, meat, theft, adultery, etc.;  toil and live a simple life; Bathing, yagya and kirtan every day;  By setting up schools, teaching children, resolving their quarrels in the panchayat, not suffering injustice, not giving rent to the stooge vassals of the British, not begar and boycotting foreign goods and using swadeshi, were propagated in village to village.
• In no time, millions of people became his devotees. Every year on Margashirsha Purnima, there was an annual fair of the sabha, in which people used to sacrifice ghee and coconut while performing havan.
• People used to bring ghee utensils in their hands and their traditional weapons on their shoulders. Social and political problems were also discussed in the fair. Due to this, this forest-dwelling area of Vagad gradually started smouldering in the fire of opposition from the British government and local feudals.

Mangarh massacre

• On November 17, 1913 (Margashirsha Purnima), the annual fair was to be held on the hill of Mangarh.
• Earlier, Govind Guru had written a letter to the government urging the famine-stricken tribals to reduce the tax being charged on farming, allow them to follow religious traditions and not harass them in the name of begar;
• Under the leadership of Govind Guru  , the tribals gathered there with ration water on the hill of Mangarh, seeing this, the opponents spread rumors that all of them wanted to rebel and capture the princely states.
• Then this area was under the state of Bombay. The army officer of Bombay state reached near Mangarh Hill on  10 November 1913  with the English army.
• The armed Bhils forcefully sent back the army, including the commissioner. The army stopped some distance away from the hill.
• There was no dialogue between the Bhils and the British. The British immediately called the army from Mewar Cantonment.
• But the administration surrounded the hill and installed machine guns and cannons. After this, he ordered Govind Guru to leave Mangarh hill immediately.
• By that time millions of bhagats had come there. The police, led by Colonel Shaton, opened fire, killing thousands of people. Their number is said to be from 1,500.
• Govind Guru was shot in the leg. He was arrested and then sentenced to life imprisonment. After being released from jail in 1923,  he continued to do various works of public service through Bhil Seva Sadan, Jhalod.
•  He died on October 30, 1931, in village Kamboi (Gujarat). Every year on Margashirsha Purnima, lakhs of people come to his samadhi built there and pay homage to him.

 What is a National Monument?

• Monuments of national importance are historical, ancient or archaeological structures, sites or places located in India
• These sites are protected by the Federal Government of India or the State Governments through the Archaeological Survey of India under the  Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958   .
• Such monuments are defined by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
• Such monuments, on meeting the parameters of the Act, are first declared to be of national importance under a legal process, and then placed under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India,  so that they can be taken care of properly in view of their historical importance.
• These monuments and sites are maintained and preserved by various divisions of the Archaeological Survey of India which are spread all over the country.

Source – TH

 

Anti-superstition law

Paper 2 – Polity

Why You Should Know?

Three persons have been arrested for allegedly offering atrocities in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta

In detail –

What’s the matter?

• Traditional healer Bhagwal Singh, his wife and massage therapist Laila and tantrik Mohammed Shafi have been  arrested by kerala police for allegedly sacrificing two women.
• The couple allegedly committed the crime in July and September at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta along with the tantrik to bring prosperity to the house.
• The Kerala government has called for a new law to stop practices related to superstition in the state after the matter came to light.
• The Kerala government has said that apart from strict implementation of existing laws, bringing a new law should be considered if necessary.
• However, the Kerala Secretariat, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said that such heart-wrenching incidents cannot be stopped only by law, but it is necessary to create awareness about it in the society.
• According to the Kerala government, 73 people were killed in the country last year due to superstition.

Official data

• According to a 2021 report by  the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), six deaths were linked to human sacrifice, while witchcraft was the cause of 68 murders in the country.
• The highest number of witchcraft cases were reported from Chhattisgarh (20), followed by Madhya Pradesh (18) and Telangana (11 ). Kerala saw two cases of human sacrifice.
• In 2020, there were 88 deaths due to witchcraft in India  and 11 deaths  as part of ‘human sacrifice’,  the NCRB report said.
• In India, there is no central law specifically dealing with offences related to witchcraft, superstition, or occult-induced activities.
• In the absence of a nationwide law, some states have enacted laws to combat witchcraft and protect women from deadly ‘witch-hunting’ .

Law against black magic

• Since 1999, eight states in the country have enacted laws to deal with cases related to superstition and witchcraft.
• Different punishment provisions have been made in different states. However, the law of these states does not define the meaning of black magic or superstition.

Bihar

• Bihar was the  first state in the country to enact a law in 1999 against women being declared witches and tortured.
• In Bihar, it is known as the Prevention of Witch Practice Act, 1999.
• According to this law, witch means a woman who has the power to harm a person with the use of her eyes, mantras and black magic. 

Jharkhand

• A similar law exists in Jharkhand. Last year, five members of a family were killed in Buruhatu-Amtoli hills of Gumla in the state.
• The village council there had allegedly declared these people witches and sentenced them to death.
• The Jharkhand High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter on the basis of media reports.
• A division bench headed by Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan, in an order dated March 18, 2021, had said that the Prevention of Witch Practice Act, 1999 was adopted by Jharkhand, but there was laxity in taking concrete steps in this regard.

Chhattisgarh

• The Tonhi Prevention of Torture Act 2005 exists in Chhattisgarh. The law is against declaring any man or woman tonhi.
• Tonhi means a person who can harm a person or animal with black magic and his evil eye etc.
• The law prohibits the practice of exorcism, totka and tantramantra etc. as ojhas, which carries a maximum punishment of five years in jail and a fine.

Odisha

• The Prevention of Witch Hunting Act 2013 is in force in Odisha.
• This law applies against declaring women as witches or witches and atrocities on them.
• Under this law, there is a provision of minimum one year and maximum three years imprisonment.

Rajasthan

• The Prevention of Witch Hunting Act 2015 is applicable in Rajasthan.
• In some cases, there is a provision for stringent punishment under this law of Rajasthan.
• Under this law,  people of the area where it has been violated can also be fined.

Assam

• Assam also has a law against superstition. The law here prohibits activity in which a person is blamed for inauspicious events.
• These incidents include natural disasters such as drought, floods, crop loss and illness or death in the village, etc.
• Assam’s Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention, Protection) Act 2015 prohibits various forms of torture.
• These include stoning, hanging, stabbing, dragging, public beating, burning, cutting or burning hair, forcibly shaving, breaking teeth, breaking nose or any other body part, blackening face, flogging,  Superstition activities include making marks on the body with a hot thing or a sharp weapon.

Maharashtra

• The Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act 2013 is in force in Maharashtra.
• It was implemented in view of several incidents of human sacrifice and black magic in the state.

Karnataka

• The anti-superstition law is in force in Karnataka. This law was brought in 2020. The law prohibits dozens of practices of evil practices.
• According to reports, a bill was brought in Kerala in 2019 to harm humans and ban sorcery-black magic but it has not been passed yet.
• Many institutions and groups have been demanding a national law against superstition and black magic in the country for a long time.

Sources – TH

Child-friendly Police Station

Paper 2 – Governance

Why You Should Know?

The Odisha state government has made a good start for children coming to police stations.They also announced a Sampark help desk to address issues of gender violence by providing psychosocial support to victims of sexual violence.

In detail –

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared 16 police stations as child-friendly on November 1,  2022.
• 18 more such police stations will be set up in the state which are child-friendly.
• A Sampark help desk will also be set up to provide psychosocial support to victims of sexual violence and address issues of gender violence.
• This help desk will help people who face trauma after an incident.
• Child-accessible facilities have been set up  at Crime Against Women and Child Wings (CAW&CW)  in Bhubaneswar and Jagatsinghpur.
• Apart from this, the facility is also available in Angul and Binika police stations of the state at  Padmapur, Jajpur Road, Jharsuguda,  Nayagarh, Aska, Soro, Bhawanipatna Sadar, Rairangpur, Deogarh, Rourkela Sector 19, Dhenkanal Town, Keonjhar Town,  NALCO in Bargarh.

The specialty of these stations –

• These police stations in the state have been developed to provide a child-friendly environment.
• Such police stations have child-friendly facilities and environment and are decorated in such a way that they attract children.
• The child-friendly police station has entertainment tools  like soft toys, a library with animated storybooks, swings for children, washrooms, a separate breastfeeding corner for lactating mothers and TVs.

Objective

• Its main objective is to make minors more comfortable by filing police complaints without any fear.
• Such measures are aimed at reducing the fear and mental pressure of children coming to police stations and demanding justice.
• A child-accessible unit has been opened at the Crime Against Women and Children (CAW&CW) police station in the city, 15 other districts have one such facility each.

Significance

• The Sampark help desk, launched in technical collaboration with UNICEF, will help victims connect with various support agencies in the district such as DCPU, DSWO, CWC, Childline, One Stop Centre and District Mental Health Professionals.
• This initiative will inform them about their rights and rights in their journey to secure justice.

Increasing child sexual abuse

• Despite stringent laws like POCSO (Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences), cases of sexual violence against children in India are not decreasing but are increasing year after year.
• Apart from metros, such heinous crimes are also being committed in small towns.
• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for 2020 shows that 47,221 cases  of child sexual abuse  were registered in the country, most of which were girls.
• According to the NCRB, the highest number of incidents of sexual violence and sexual abuse  took place with girls aged between 16 and 18 years.
• The POCSO Act was enacted nine years ago to protect children from sexual abuse.
•  According to the (NCRB) report from 2016 to 2020, the number of reported child sexual abuse cases  increased from  36,321 in 2016 to  over 47,000  in 2020.
• This is a 31 per cent increase, according to experts, which is also the end of the iceberg.  

Online sexual abuse

• Rights group Equality Now, which investigates the failure of international and national laws to keep pace with changing technology and its abuse, says hunters are increasingly using social media and online gaming platforms to target potential victims.
• According to Equality Now, criminals operate anonymously and operate under very limited regulation.
• Equality Now says more than half of children trafficked for sexual abuse in the US met their sexual abuser for the first time via text, website or mobile app.
• The Global Threat Assessment Report 2021  by We Protect Global Alliance said covid-19 has contributed to a significant increase in child sexual abuse and online abuse.

Source –IE

Citizenship to refugees

Paper 2 – Polity

Why You Should Know?

The central government will grant citizenship to refugees from two districts of Gujarat. It will be provided  by  the Citizenship Act,  1955 instead of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA)

In detail –

• The Centre has decided to grant Indian citizenship to  Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan currently residing in two districts of Gujarat under the Citizenship Act,  1955.
• The move to grant citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955,  is significant instead of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA).
• The CAA  also provides for grant of Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
• Since the rules under the Act have not been framed by the government so far, no one has been granted citizenship under it so far  .
• According to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry,  Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians living in Anand and Mehsana districts of Gujarat will be allowed to register as citizens of India or will be given a certificate of being citizens of the country. 
• This will be  done as per section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009, who had been living as refugees in Gujarat for a long time.

How will citizenship be granted?

• All such people will have to submit their applications online,  which will be verified by the collector at the district level.
• The application and the report thereon will be made available online to the central government simultaneously.
• The Collector may conduct such inquiry as he may deem necessary to ascertain the suitability of the applicant and for that purpose, forward an online application for verification and comments to such agencies as may be necessary to carry out such investigation.
• After completing the entire process, the collector, satisfied with the suitability of the applicant, shall grant him citizenship of India by registration or naturalisation and issue a certificate of registration or naturalisation, as the case may be, the notification said.

Citizenship Amendment Act

• In January 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs notified that the Citizenship Amendment Act will come into force from January 10, 2020, but later it sought time from parliamentary committees in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to give some more time to implement the rules in the country as the country was going through a corona crisis at that time.
• Two weeks ago, the Union Home Ministry was given another extension by parliamentary committees on subordinate legislation in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to frame caa rules.
• While the Rajya Sabha has given permission till December 31, 2022, the Lok Sabha has given time till January 9, 2023.
• This was the seventh extension given to the Home Ministry to frame rules under the CAA.

About The Citizenship Act, 1955

• At the time of the Indo-Pak partition, there was massive population movement across the new borders separating India and Pakistan.
• This gave people the  freedom to live in the country of their choice and get citizenship of that country.
• In this context, the Constituent Assembly limited the scope of the citizenship provisions of the Constitution to address the immediate objective of determining the citizenship of these migrants.
• Later, the Citizenship Act enacted by Parliament in the year 1955 made specific provisions for citizenship requirements and eligibility.
• The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for the acquisition and termination of citizenship after the enactment of the Constitution.
• The Act lays down five ways of acquiring citizenship, namely birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and inclusion of territory.

Constitutional provision

• Part II of the Indian Constitution, Articles 5-11, deals with citizenship.
• It identifies only those persons who became citizens of India at its inception (i.e. on January 26, 1950).
• It empowers Parliament to make laws for such matters and any other matter related to citizenship.
• Accordingly,  Parliament has enacted the Citizenship Act (1955), which has been amended from time to time.

Sources – TH

Saffron festival

Paper 3 – कृषि

Why You Should Know?

This time  the Tourism Department of Jammu and Kashmir  has organized a Saffron  Festival to introduce tourists and promote business with this flower  of saffron.

In detail –

• The Kashmir Tourism Department had recently invited students and local farmers to join the saffron festival held in Laddu area to highlight the entire process of saffron cultivation.
• Through the Saffron Festival, a lot of people will get to know about saffron and people associated with this business will also get a lot of benefit.

About Kashmir Saffron

• Kashmir saffron is considered to be the best and most expensive saffron in the world and its consumption in Kashmir is second only to Iran
• But due to quality and its color, it comes first in the world and its highest demand is in its own country India.
• The Kashmir Valley is witnessing a 30 per cent increase in saffron cultivation this year.
• The highest production of saffron is in Pampore area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district where purple flowers of saffron are seen blooming in the fields far away.
• For the last few years, due to the efforts of the concerned departments of the government, efforts are being made to take saffron to a different level. A big step in this is the GI (Geographical Indication) tags received by saffron about three years ago.
• According to the farmers, the GI tag makes a difference between real and copying and real saffron reaches various markets of the country, due to which they are now getting an increase in saffron prices.
• At the same time, efforts are also being made by the government to promote agri-tourism to introduce tourists to saffron cultivation.

Choosing high quality

• With the introduction of new techniques of GI tagging and processing, the quality of Kashmir’s saffron has reached number one worldwide.
• To promote the sale of saffron from the Valley and for the sole purpose of processing, a new saffron park has been started where saffron samples are tested.
• There are 8 criteria on which these samples are tested to measure its purity, which are internationally recognized.
• Out of these 8 parameters, moisture, external matter, foreign matter and total ash – are the three main parameters.
• Grade them and then do e-auction. Here’s saving all the parameters that help Kashmir saffron get the best grade.
• The purpose behind building Spice Park was to maintain the purity of Kashmiri saffron. Saffron flowers are sent to this laboratory where scientists process them with new technology and maintain the best quality.
• With this quality assurance and GI tagging the government can sell products on all national and international platforms. The component of Kashmiri saffron is aroma. It’s much better than Iran and Spain.

Source – TH

 

Two-finger test

Paper 2 –  Health

Why You Should Know?

Recently, while hearing the two-finger test case, the Supreme Court also reprimanded the medical colleges. the SC has ordered medical colleges to remove the two-finger test from the study material.

In detail –

• The Supreme Court has termed it wrong, the Supreme Court said that the two-finger test is based on the patriarchal mindset of the society.
• The Supreme Court said that despite the ban in 2013, conducting a two-finger test of a victim of sexual abuse repeatedly hurts her.
• The court has clearly said that those who conduct the two-finger test and attend it will be held guilty of misconduct.

 Guidelines required

• The court has given clear instructions to the central government to issue a guideline on how to treat  the rape victim.
• At the same time, the court also emphasized that the police and health officials need to be more sensitive in such cases.

What is the ‘two-finger’ test?

• The ‘two-finger’ test has been used to investigate allegations of rape. It was also called virginity test.
• In the test, two fingers are inserted in the victim’s private part. With this, doctors try to know whether there is  a physical relationship with the victim or not.
• In this, the flexibility and hymen of the muscles of the private part are examined. If the hymen is present in the private part, then there is no physical relationship.
• If the hymen is damaged, then that woman is considered sexually active.

Test is unscientific

• Experts consider this test unscientific. Experts say about the ‘two-finger’ test that apart from intercourse, the hymen can break for many reasons.
• This includes playing a sport, cycling, using tampons or during medical examinations.
• At the same time, doctors are also of the opinion that when it comes to detecting dysfunction in the muscles of the private part, the psychological state plays a major role.
• Because in the case of a distressed person, the muscles of the private part can be tense – as in the case of a rape victim.

Test halted after Nirbhaya case

• In 2013, after the Nirbhaya rape in the capital Delhi, there was a debate about it. At the same time, this test was banned.
• The central government had also called it unscientific at that time. In March 2014, the Health Ministry had made new guidelines for rape victims.
• The two-finger test was clearly forbidden in the gyline. The Verma Committee was also formed at that time to review the laws of sexual violence.
• The committee had also made it clear that whether the rape took place or not was a legal inquiry, not a medical assessment.

Sources – IE

COP27 Climate Conference

Paper 3 – Environment

Why You Should Know?

COP27 climate conference to be  held in Egypt

In detail –

• COP27 is the 27th annual meeting of the United Nations on climate, which will be held from November 6 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
• At the UN Environment Conference in Egypt, global leaders will discuss the issue of climate change and its solutions.
• The past year has been marred by climate-related disasters. In many places, there was excessive rain and unexpected floods, then temperature records were broken in many places.

What is the United Nations Climate Summit?

• The UNITED Nations Climate Summit takes place every year. In this, governments discuss the steps to be taken to prevent climate change at the global level and these are agreed upon in the countries.  
• These are called the COP or ‘Conference of the Parties’, which include countries that signed the original climate agreement in 1992.

Why the need for meetings?

• The temperature of the earth is constantly increasing. The main reason for this is human-produced emissions, which are mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil,  gas and coal.
• According to UN climate scientists, the global temperature has risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius and according to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it is poised to rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• According to IPCC estimates, if the temperature rises by 1.7 or 1.8 degrees Celsius compared to the 1850s, half of the world’s population will be covered by deadly heat and humidity.
• To prevent this, 194 countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015. Its purpose was to stop the global temperature rise at less than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Countries involved in COP 27

• Governments of more than 200 countries have been invited to attend the conference.
• Leaders of some big countries such as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Russian President Vladimir Putin may not be able to attend it. However, representatives of these countries will participate in the conference.
• At the same time, some countries like China have also not confirmed the presence of their leader.
• Host Egypt has urged countries to “display leadership”  by putting aside their differences.
• Apart from global leaders,  environmental organisations, community groups, think tanks, business companies, religious groups will also participate in the conference.

What issues will be discussed?

• Before the meeting, countries were asked to submit their ambitious national plans. So far, only 25 countries have done this.
• Cop27 will mainly discuss three points-
• Reducing emissions.
• To help countries be prepared to deal with climate change and take steps in this direction.
• Securing funds for developing countries for these activities.
• Apart from this, some points left out in COP 26 will also be discussed-
• Loss and damage financial support. Also provide money to countries to overcome the effects of climate change.
• Establishing a global carbon market. Also add to the effects of emissions in the price of products and services globally.
• Strengthen commitments to reduce coal use.

Key points of discussion

• The theme of different days of the conference will be different for discussions and announcements on issues such as gender inequality, agriculture and bio-diversity.
• Financial cooperation has been a major issue during climate discussions.
• In 2009, developed countries committed $100 billion to developing countries by 2020 to reduce emissions and be prepared for climate change. However, this goal could not be achieved and now it has to be achieved by 2023.
• But they are also asking for funds to compensate for the damage and damage they are facing.
• The option to pay was removed from the climate conference in Bonn. Developed countries fear that if they are forced to pay, they will have to pay for decades again.
• The EU says this should be discussed in COP 27.
• Last year, there were some agreements on forests, coal and methane gas, and some more countries can sign them.
• However, some scientists believe that global leaders have been too late to make decisions on climate change and no matter what the agreements are now,  the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius will not be achieved in COP 27.

Source – BBC

 

 

 China’s space station

Paper 3 – Science and Technology

Why You Should Know?

Recently, China took a step towards completing its ambitious space station currently under construction and successfully launched its second lab module on November 1, 2022.

In detail –

• China has taken this step towards completing the space station by the end of this year, which is the last important component of the space station.
• A long March-5B rocket carrying Mengtian was launched  from the Wenchang spacecraft  launch site in south China’s Hainan province.
• About eight minutes later, the lab module separated from the carrier rocket and entered its predetermined orbit
• The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) declared the launch mission a complete success.
• China successfully launched the first lab module of its under-construction space station in early july last week this year.

Two more missions

• Two more missions are now to be sent to prepare China’s space station for operation. Automatic cargo ships will be sent in November.
• Shenzhou-15 will be sent with three astronauts to stay on the station for a long time in December.
• According to China’s Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China will be the only country to have its own space station after the construction of the space station is completed this year.

What is Mengtian Lab Module?

• Mengtian means “dreams of heaven.” It is the final “building block” that will make China’s space station a T-shaped three-module structure.
• This module is similar in size and weight to Tianhe Core and Ventian Lab.
• It is 17.9 meters long, with a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and its takeoff volume is about 23 tons.
• It includes a working cabin for astronauts, an airlock cabin, a payload cabin and a resource cabin.
• Mengtian is primarily designed for scientific experiments. Unlike Tianhe and Vention, it does not have a sleeping cabin.
• Instead, it is full of cabinets that can be used to perform multiple experiments, focusing on microgravity scientific research.
• The new module will act as a backup of the core module and as a powerful scientific experiment platform in the Tiangong space station being built.

Space Station Tiangong

• China launched the central module of its space station Tiangong in April 2021.
• Tiangong will have  a mass of between 90 and 100 tons (200,000 and 220,000 lb), about one-fifth the mass of the International Space Station and the size of the decommissioned Russian Mir Space Station.
• Tiangong – which must be at least 10 years of age – is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.
• China is putting all its strength to set up its own space station in space. For this, he is also sending passengers to space.
• China sent three astronauts on a mission in July. This mission is going to last about six months.
• The three passengers will play a role in the construction at the Chinese space station Tiangong. Astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Juze were sent to space on a Shenzhou-14 spacecraft.
• This space station will be made a National Space Laboratory.

Sources –IE

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Paper 3 – International Relations

Why You Should Know?

Recently, the ‘SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting’ was held 

In detail –

• Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states call for adoption of multi-polar global order based on international law and pluralism
• In a joint communique issued after the meeting, the heads of delegations emphasised that member states should follow methods that protect against confrontational approaches to solve problems of international and regional development.
• The joint statement reaffirmed the relevance of the initiative to promote dialogue in building new types of international relations in the spirit of mutual respect, justice, equality and mutually beneficial cooperation, taking into account the opinions of the Member States.
• The statement expressed support for India’s presidency in the organisation in 2022-2023.
• The heads of delegations confirmed that member states have considered it important to further improve global economic governance.
• He said they will continue to advocate and strengthen an open, transparent, fair,  inclusive and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system based on the WTO, its rules and principles.
• It has also advocated enhancing interaction in the field of digital economy and digital technologies to ensure inclusive economic growth of member states to achieve the goals of the UNITED NATIONS 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Annual meeting

• This meeting is held annually. It focuses on the organization’s business and economic agenda and approves its annual budget.
• The annual SCO summit was held last month in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.
• It was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders of the grouping.

About  Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a permanent intergovernmental international organization, a Eurasian political, economic and security organization, which aims to maintain peace, security and stability in the region concerned.
• It was founded in Shanghai on  June 15, 2001. At present, its member countries include Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
• It was initially  formed in the year 1996 as Shanghai Five, which included Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
• The Shanghai Five was renamed SCO after Uzbekistan joined the organization in  2001.
• India and Pakistan  became its members in 2017.
• On September 17, 2021, it was announced that full-time  membership of the SCO will be assumed by Iran.

Goals

• Strengthening mutual trust among member states,  promoting mutual effective cooperation in defence, politics, trade, economy,  research, technology and culture as well as education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection and other areas is the main objective of the group.
• SCO  has  also been making continuous efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.

Significance of SCO

• The SCO has emerged as an important regional organization in the Eurasian region. This group  represents  more than 60% of Eurasia’s  area,  more than 40% of the global population, and about one-quarter of global GDP.
• Its member states include two permanent members of the UN Security Council and four nuclear powers, which underscore its importance.
• Given the role and importance of the SCO  in the Eurasian region and beyond, it can be said that joining this organization is likely to benefit India more in the long run. The SCO provides an opportunity for India to serve its national interests while carefully facing the current challenges.

Sources – All India Radio

‘Slum Rehabilitation’ project

Paper 3 – Basic Structure

Why You Should Know?

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi,  will inaugurate 3024 newly constructed flats at Kalkaji,  Delhi under the ‘In-Situ Slum Rehabilitation’ project on  November  2,2022.

In detail –

• In line with the Prime Minister’s vision of providing housing for all, slum rehabilitation work is being undertaken by The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 376 jhuggi jhopri clusters in situ.
• The objective of this rehabilitation project is to provide a better and healthy environment to the slum cluster dwellers with proper comforts and facilities.
• DDA has taken up three such projects in Kalkaji Extension, Jailarwala Bagh and Kathputli Colony.

What is the project?

• Under Kalkaji Extension Project, in-situ rehabilitation of three slum clusters namely Bhumiheen Camp, Navjivan Camp and Jawahar Camp at Kalkaji is being carried out in a phased manner.
• Under Phase-I, 3024 EWS flats have been constructed at a nearby commercial hub site lying vacant.
• The slum space of the landless camp will be vacated by rehabilitating the eligible families of the landless camp in the newly constructed EWS flats.
• After vacating the landless camp site, the place will be used for rehabilitation of Navjivan Camp and Jawahar Camp in the second phase.

Features

• Phase-of the project- . Completed and 3024 flats are ready to live in. These flats have been constructed at a cost of about Rs.345 crore and are equipped with all civic amenities and have been finished with vitrified  floor tiles, ceramic tiles, Udaipur green marble counter in kitchen etc.
• Public facilities like community park, electric sub-station, sewage treatment plant, dual water pipeline, lift, underground reservoir for clean water supply etc. have also been made available here.
• Allotment of flats will provide people with ownership as well as a sense of security.

Sources – PIB